


The Marrying Type

by sanctuary_for_all



Series: Side By Side [2]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: A little angst, Established Relationship, Feels, Fluff, Jack's Self Esteem Is Weirdly Terrible When You Dig Down A Little, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Neither Mac Nor I Understand This
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-03-03 02:05:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13331193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctuary_for_all/pseuds/sanctuary_for_all
Summary: Jack had decided he wasn't the marrying type, but Mac was the exception to most of Jack's rules. (future fic)





	The Marrying Type

**Author's Note:**

> This is not at all the fic I meant to write.

It had been years since Jack thought of himself as the marrying type.

He _had_ thought about getting married at one point, in the same vague way you think about everything in your 20s. He assumed he’d get a wife and kids eventually – he’d always wanted to be a dad – but it hadn’t been a priority. With the arrogance of the young and dumb, he told himself he’d have plenty of time.

Then he’d fallen in love with Sarah, fumbling it at the last moment, and he found himself wondering why he hadn’t been able to hold on to someone he’d loved that much. Then a few years later it had been Diane, and he’d run again after beating her ex to a bloody pulp and coming to the realization that he worried a lot more about Riley hating him for it than he did what Diane would think. Once again, he’d been handed everything a man could want, and he’d still found a way to screw it up.

After that, he decided it would be best to stop inflicting himself on good women and kept all his relationships strictly casual. Clearly, there was something broken in him, and if he didn’t accept that fact now he’d only hurt more people who didn’t deserve it. He just wasn’t meant for things like marriage and family.

Then he met Mac, and it wasn’t long before he forgot he’d ever wanted anything else.

000

Jack picked up the mail, thumbing through it as he followed Mac inside and bumped the door shut behind them. With Mac’s inventing and Bozer’s moviemaking the house tended to get a special class of junk mail, and now that he was officially living here now as well Jack was tempted to sign up for a few things just to add to the craziness.

“One of these days, I’m going to make you take me to the American Pyrotechnics Association’s annual convention,” he said, amused all over again that there were not one, but two major fireworks associations in the U.S. “It’s got to be more fun than you make it sound.”

Mac grinned, pulling two beers out of the fridge before coming over and leaning against the counter next to Jack. He set one down next to Jack, taking a long drink of his own. “Believe me, it’s not.” He tilted his head, correcting himself. “Okay, it’s fun if you’re really interested in healthy debates on what the best oxidizer is, but you don’t exactly fall into that category.”

Jack grinned back at him. “I still don’t believe you that they don’t blow _anything_ up at a pyrotechnics convention. I mean, if something’s not on fire, why are you even _there_?” He kept thumbing through the stack, stopping when he came to a crisp, light pink envelope from someone named Amelia Davis who lived in Arlington Heights, Illinois that was addressed to all three of them. “You’re going to have to explain this one to me, though.”

Mac’s brow furrowed. “I think it’s one of the cousins.” He set down his bottle before taking the envelope out of Jack’s hand, opening it and scanning the invitation inside. “Yeah, Gail is Bozer’s mom’s sister, though don’t ask me which of the kids Amelia is. I’m pretty sure Gail had something like five daughters, and even now I can never remember who’s who.”

Jack slipped the envelope out from underneath the card in Mac’s hand, staring at his name neatly printed underneath Mac’s. He knew that Mac was considered an unofficial member of Bozer’s family – once they became friends, he’d always shared the goodies in the care packages Bozer’s Aunt Bess used to send when they were in Afghanistan, and there were times when Bozer’s parents would call Mac directly just to talk. Jack had always thought it was sweet, even though it made him miss his dad, and was careful not to get in the way of any of it.  He already had so much, he wasn’t about to step in places that weren’t meant for him.

Which was why seeing his name like this was such a surprise. “That’s not what I meant,” he said carefully, chest oddly tight. “I mean, why did it get sent to me, too?”

Mac gave him a confused look. “You’ve been my official significant other on the family mailing lists ever since you got the OK from Bozer’s parents last year. You must not have noticed, but your name was on both of last year’s Christmas newsletters, too.”

Jack blinked, completely thrown. “Bozer’s parents gave me the OK?”

Now Mac’s expression shifted from confusion into mild concern, as if wondering whether Jack might have a concussion he didn’t know about. “Yeah – last year, when they came to L.A. ‘on their way’ to something. They had figured out how serious I was about you, and the entire thing was a thinly veiled excuse to see whether or not they needed to stage an intervention.” His brow lowered. “I thought you knew about this. You were on your best behavior the whole visit.”

“I knew they were checking me out, but I thought it was because I was an old man who wanted to move in to the same house as their son and unofficial son.” It had made complete sense to him – he sure as hell would have done the same thing in their place – and had behaved accordingly. “I thought they were worried about me being a creeper, not checking to see if I was worthy of you!”

Now the concern was moving away from “potential concussion” territory into something a little more serious. “They already knew you weren’t a creeper, Jack – Bozer and I have been talking about you for years.” He winced slightly. “In fact, that’s probably why they were on their guard as much as they were. Bozer’s mom wasn’t real thrilled with you once she figured out you’re the reason I stayed in Afghanistan longer than I had to. She’s okay now, but it took awhile.”

Jack’s throat tightened, a pressure in his chest he hadn’t expected. “Yeah, I can see that.”

Mac set the invitation down on the counter, expression turning serious and just a little bit fragile. “Everyone who matters knows how big a part of my life you are,” he said quietly. “But if it bothers you….”

“No,” Jack said hurriedly, not wanting Mac to think that for even a second. Mac relaxed a little at that, and Jack leaned forward and gave him a slow, lingering kiss to chase the rest of the tension away. “I am _definitely_ not bothered by any of this. I just didn’t expect it.”

Now Mac looked amused, giving Jack a quick kiss before pulling away. “We were together longer than some marriages before we even started dating, Jack.” He picked the invitation up, sticking it to the fridge with a magnet. “You followed me to L.A. instead of going back to Texas. They knew how serious this was.” 

Jack swallowed, looking from the invitation to Mac. He’d scrubbed the idea of marriage out of his head so thoroughly that it hadn’t even occurred to him that he’d already made a lifetime commitment. Getting married to Mac would just be making something official that he already knew was true – he’d be with Mac for the rest of his life. 

Even more important, he was _good_ for Mac. He tried hard to be every single day, and if even Bozer’s parents agreed than he must be doing a decent job of it. He could _have_ this.

Maybe. Hopefully.

Jack cleared his throat, knowing he couldn’t stop the words that were about to fall out of his mouth even if he wanted to. “Mac.” Even that word cracked, and Mac straightened in sudden attention. Jack swallowed, staring into the bright blue eyes of the one person he’d had the good sense to never let go of. “Any chance you’d be willing to marry me?”

Mac inhaled shakily, expression going heartbreakingly fragile. “Jack,” he managed finally, his own voice rough with emotion. “You know you don’t have to do this, right? I didn’t—”

“I want to.” Jack went down on one knee, heart pounding so loud he could hear it in his ears. “I just...” He felt his eyes start to fill. “I forgot I could.”

Mac blinked hard, his own eyes wet. “I don’t know what that even _means_.”

“Doesn’t matter.” He held a hand out to Mac, his heart in his throat. “All that matters right now is how you feel about the question I just asked you.”

Mac grinned suddenly, wild and bright, and Jack suddenly knew what Mac’s answer was going to be. A sudden rush of joy left him reeling, and he let Mac haul him upward and into a rib-cracking embrace.

“Did you really not know I was going to say yes?” Mac breathed, face pressed against Jack’s neck.

Jack closed his eyes, breathing Mac in. His younger self had no idea what he’d been missing. “What can I say? I’m an idiot sometimes.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come check out my [original fiction,](https://jennifferwardell.wixsite.com/mybooks) my [blog,](http://jennifferwardell.blogspot.com) or say hi to me on [Tumblr](http://sanctuaryforalluniverses.tumblr.com)!


End file.
